The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Dendranthema grandiflora and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Yohamilton.
The new Chrysanthemum is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Salinas, Calif. and Fort Myers, Fla. The objective of the breeding program is to create new potted Chrysanthemum cultivars with desirable inflorescence form and floret colors, good substance, and excellent postproduction longevity.
The new Chrysanthemum originated from a cross made by the Inventor in January, 1994, in Salinas, Calif., of a proprietary Chrysanthemum seedling selection identified as YB-6145 as the male, or pollen, parent with a proprietary Chrysanthemum seedling selection identified as YB-1421 as the female, or seed, parent. The new Chrysanthemum was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within this population in May, 1995. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable inflorescence form and floret colors.
Asexual reproduction of the new Chrysanthemum by terminal cuttings harvested in a controlled environment in Fort Myers, Fla., has shown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Yohamilton has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Yohamiltonxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Yohamiltonxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Chrysanthemum:
1. Upright and uniformly mounded plant habit.
2. Freely branching, dense and full plants.
3. Vigorous and strong plant growth.
4. Strong and large dark green leaves.
5. Uniform flowering and excellent inflorescence form retention.
6. Early flowering, eight-week response time.
7. Large and full decorative-type inflorescences that are about 9.7 cm in diameter with numerous ray florets.
8. Bright yellow-colored ray florets.
9. Excellent winter performance.
10. Excellent postproduction longevity with inflorescences and leaves maintaining good substance and color for about three to four weeks in an interior environment.
Plants of the new Chrysanthemum are similar in ray floret coloration to plants of the cultivar, Iridon, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,125. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Fort Myers, Fla., plants of the new Chrysanthemum differ from plants of the cultivar Iridon in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum are more vigorous and taller than plants of the cultivar Iridon.
2. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum have larger leaves than plants of the cultivar Iridon.
3. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum have larger inflorescences than plants of the cultivar Iridon.
4. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flower about one week earlier than plants of the cultivar Iridon.